Cartographica Neerlandica Background for Ortelius Map No. 117

Title: ITALIAE NOVISSIMA | DESCRIPTIO AVCTORE | IACOBO CASTALDO | PEDEMONTANO [A very new depiction of Italy by Jacobus Castaldus of Piemont] (Left of cartouche:) "Cum priuilegio." [With privilege].

Plate size: 360 x 514 mm
Scale: 1 : 3,000,000
Identification number: Ort 117 (Koeman/Meurer: 32, Karrow: 1/43, vdKrogtAN: 7000:31A).

Occurrence in Theatrum editions and page number:

1570L(AC)32 (225 copies printed) (first line ends: rerumque ;last line, left aligned: Sabellicus; Dom. Niger; sed absolutissimè Leander.),
1570L(B)32 (100 copies printed) (first line ends: vicissi- ; last line, centred like one line above it: & Dom.Niger ; sed absolutissimè Leander.),
1571L32 (275 copies printed) (first line ends: mu- ; last line, centred like one line above it: & Dom.Niger; sed absolutissimè Leander.),
1571/1573D32 (350 copies printed) (last line, centred like two lines above it: Albertum,diet met grooter neerstichheyt beschreuen heeft.),
1572G32 (pasted over p.32 of a 1570L edition by Koler; few copies printed)(last line, left aligned, partly in Gothic script: Blondus, Ioannes Annius Viterbiensis, in seinem Commentarijs uber Berosum und andere. Volateranus,Sabellicus, Domi: Niger, am volkomlichsten der Leander.),
1572/1573G32 (225 copies printed) (last line, centred like 2 lines above it: grossen fleiss beschieben hatt.),
1572/1574F32 (225 copies printed) (last line, centred like 2 lines above it, in cursive script like the entire text: "en a escrit,qui en a fait vne description tresdiligente."),
1573L(A)41 (40 copies printed) (full stop after the title located just below the horizontal stroke of the final capital A of the title; last line, centred like 2 lines above it: terranus ; Sabellicus ; & Dom.Niger ;sed absolutissimè Leander.),
1573L(B)41 (40 copies printed) (full stop after the title located just above the horizontal stroke of the final capital A of the title; last line, centred like 2 lines above it: terranus ; Sabellicus ; & Dom.Niger ;sed absolutissimè Leander.),
1574L41 (175 copies printed) (large page number, 11 mm; last line, centred like 2 lines above it, non-italic like 3 lines above it: terranus ; Sabellicus ; & Dom . Niger ; sed absolutissimè Leander.),
1575L41 (100 copies printed) (small page number, 7 mm; last line, left aligned and italic like 3 lines above it: "lutißimè Leander".),
1579L(A)58 (250 copies printed) (last line, left aligned and italic like 3 lines above it: "der: Galliam Cisalpinam, quæ non minimam Italiæ parte comprehendit,Gaudentius Merula pulcherrimè descripsit." ; page number 58 below "descripsit" of last text line.),
1579L(B)58 (250 copies printed) (last line, left aligned and italic like 3 lines above it: "der:Galliam Cisalpinam,quæ non minimam Italiæ partê comprehendit, Gaudentius Merula pulcherrimè descripsit." ; page number 58 below "Gaudentius" of last text line.),
1580G58 (175 copies printed) (last line, centred like 5 lines above it, mostly in Gothic script: beschriben.),
1581F58 (400 copies printed) (last line, centred like 2 lines above it, in cursive script like the entire text: "en a escrit,qui en a fait vne description tresdiligente."); another variant, in cursive script like the entire text, left aligned: "voir,qu'il lise ce que Leandre Albert en a escrit,qui en a fait une description tresdiligente.",
few 1587F62 (10 copies printed) (last line, in cursive script like the entire text, left aligned: "a fait vne description tresdiligent".),
some 1588S64 (100 copies printed) (last line, left aligned: està muy lindamente declarada por Gaudentio Merula.).
few 1609/1612/1641S (10 copies printed, no further data available).

Approximate number of copies printed: 2935.

States: 117.1 as described;
117.2: between 1574 and 1575, numerous ornamental changes were made in the Neptune and mermaid couple left, the ship bottom right, and the mermaid below the ship and above the mile scale, e.g. the hachuring on her tail, which extended to just right of the feathers in state 1, now covers the tail to the top of its first curve.

Cartographic sources: Giacomo Gastaldi, (abt. 1500-1566) (Karrow 30/90, p. 216-249, Meurer p. 148-154), whose map of Italy was published in Venice in 1543. Other Italy maps mentioned in the "Catalogus Auctorum" are those by Bordone and Johannes Andreas Valvasorius, presumably from 1516.

Remarks: Replaced by the similar map Ort 118 from 1584L onwards. However, I found a copy of this early plate in as late an edition as the 1641S one. The early plate Ort 117 has "SERVIA" in the upper right corner, the late plate Ort 118 does not.
Note the ship, which has been engraved after a design by Pieter Brueghel.

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